Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies.Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Offense Shows Signs Of Life In Final Game of Road Trip

The Phillies were finally able to salvage a win out of the 3-game series with the Diamondbacks today.Cole Hamels allowed three runs on four hits and a walk in the 8-4 victory.

But the real news was the offense, which finally showed signs of life after scoring only 17 runs in the first six games of this road trip.

Not surprisingly, Placido Polanco continued his hot streak, going 4-for-4 in the game today and scoring three times.Polly has been the only player unaffected by this hitting slump.

Jimmy Rollins had his first multi-hit game since April 12th with an RBI-double and a 2-run homer.Shane Victorino also had two hits and both he and Ryan Howard homered in the game as well.

But while most starters were productive, Wilson Valdez still looks like he has no clue at all at the plate, swinging at anything within nearly a 10-mile radius.Raul Ibanez did not start and was 0-1 in a pinch hitting appearance.In his place, John Mayberry Jr. had one hit and two walks.

The Phils got off to a fast start, putting up three runs in the first inning.But then catcher Carlos Ruiz suddenly disappeared and Brian Schneider was brought in to catch in the bottom half of the first inning.Later, it was reported that Ruiz had lower back discomfort.

So are the Phillies playing some weird, made-up game?We can call it Pass The Problem.Roy Oswalt maybe passed on his back pain to Ruiz?And maybe Brad Lidge passed on his arm/shoulder/elbow pain to Jose Contreras?Whatever it is, it need to stop!

As for Oswalt, he left the team today to head home to Mississippi where a tornado landed close to his home.Last year, Oswalt’s parents had their home destroyed by a tornado.So now, he is understandably concerned about his wife and kids who are near the disaster zone.Hopefully, his family is fine.There is no additional word yet on the situation.

There has also not been any news about whether Ruiz is seriously hurt or not.I will keep you posted.

As for the rest of the team, they have a day off tomorrow before beginning the home stand against the Mets on Friday night at 7:05pm.

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